1 - Historical Background

Summary

In the eighteenth century medical schools and hospitals first appeared in Britain, and so did man-midwives. One of them, William Smellie, was later called 'the father of British midwifery'. In the nineteenth century the medical profession became organised, anaesthesia was discovered and the germ theory of infection was proved. The Obstetrical Society of London was formed in 1858. Midwives, however, were seen as incompetent 'Sarah Gamps'. This changed in 1902 when the Midwives Act transformed midwifery from a craft into a profession, after a long campaign led by a nurse, Zepherina Smith, and a doctor, Sir Francis Champneys, who became chairman of the Central Midwives Board. In the twentieth century the Ministry of Health was established and maternity homes were created. In 1929 the British College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists was formed but most births took place at home, where a GP would be called if complications occurred. All this time the maternal mortality rate did not change. From 1830 until 1930 one mother died in every 250 births. What did change was the public mood, and demand for action steadily grew.